Celebrating Rachel's Birthday

We celebrated Rachel's birthday all weekend long! We were hoping to do something outdoors on Saturday, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. Holland has decided to go back to winter-mode. So, we opted out of being cold and wet, and went to a local indoor play place called Chimpie Champs at Rachel's request. We also invited our friends, the Rasmussens, to join us. Rachel had so much fun playing at Chimpie Champs.

Going down the "big" slide with Bailee:Jumping away - Rachel loves the trampoline!
Peeking out of the little house we built:
Sunday morning we greeted Rachel and she was so excited to explore the decorated house. Excuse our raspy, early morning voices (I believe it was 6:40):

First thing first, a present to open:
So excited to have a new dress to wear to church and to have one for a doll that matches: Right before we went to church:
Rachel was so excited about going to church on her birthday. She loved being sung to in Primary and was thrilled to pick a treat out. After church and naps, Rachel opened the rest of her presents:
Rachel spent a lot of the day like this... She loved talking to all her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who called! :) Rachel's friend Tally brought a present over for her and then joined us for cake:
Same day, just an outfit change. She was pretty excited about getting yet another dress...

Blowing out the candles: Digging in:
Lipstick, frosting, it's all the same...
Rachel was so easy to please this year! Her only request was to have a pink cake. She didn't give me any requests for presents. Luckily she seemed happy with the results... We certainly love our little 4-year old. And we know that this next year will bring all of us much joy and excitement. Life through the eyes of a 4-year old is a lot of fun! :)

Luxembourg

After having so much success selling items on Queen's Day, we headed to Luxembourg. We drove through Luxembourg about a year ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to explore it yet. Andy had Friday off, so we decided to make the most of a 3-day weekend. Luxembourg is a very small European country, but definitely one worth visiting. We were able to enjoy some beautiful scenery on our drives and as we explored. Unfortunately on the way down there we ran into a bit of traffic. It should have been roughly a 4-hour drive, but it was more like a 6-hour drive. Oh well, luckily we were able to avoid the construction and traffic on the way home.

Once we arrived at our hotel Friday night we took the girls swimming. And once again, it was a lovely European-heated swimming pool. I dangled my feet in and Andy was a good dad and got in with the girls. :)

On Saturday morning we caught a bus right by our hotel that took us into the center of Luxembourg City. Our first stop was a square where a concert was just beginning. So, we grabbed a bench and enjoyed the music for a bit. Audrey enjoyed making rounds around the bench:

We then made our way to William Square where a fair was going on. It was a holiday in Luxembourg - their version of Labor Day. So there were all sorts of booths set up with yummy food options, games, and items to buy. We browsed through, but weren't quite ready for lunch. So, we headed to the Grand Ducal Palace:
From there we walked through some little streets and just explored the city a bit...
Around lunchtime we headed back to William Square to get some lunch. We each enjoyed something from a different booth. We ate lunch on the steps in front of the Luxembourg City Hall. Before heading out we grabbed a picture of the girls by one of the lions in front of the building. The girls thought the lions were pretty cool! :)
We then made our way to the Luxembourg Casemates. Along the way we enjoyed the scenery and snapped a few pictures:
The casemates are actually a UNESCO World Heritage site. The casemates have been around since the 10th century and in the past had been one of the most envied fortresses in Europe. Here we are exploring the casemates: Lots and lots of stairs, but Rachel loved it!
After exploring the casemates we walked along, what is considered by some, the "Balcony of Europe". Definitely a beautiful walk. Some pictures:
The Balcony of Europe didn't impress Audrey, who fell asleep holding on to her dandelion:
Rachel in front of a statue honoring Grand Duchess Charlotte I of Luxembourg:
We then decided it was time to head back to William Square and try out one of the many desserts at one of the booths. We all got something different and once again, enjoyed! We then headed back to the same square we had been at that morning listening to music, because some Portugal dancers were going to be there performing. The girls enjoyed watching the dancing. And lucky for us, when they came out into the crowd to grab dancers to join them both of us were holding a little one! :) A few more pictures before we called it a day:
Rachel still working on her lollipop: That evening we went for a swim once again. As we were riding back to the hotel on the bus Rachel mentioned that her daddy had said we were going swimming. Surprised, I turned to Andy to confirm, and he confirmed. Crazy, but one good dad! Once again he got in with the girls and they loved it! :)

The next day we visited the American Military Cemetery right outside Luxembourg:

The pictures don't do the cemetery justice. It was so green and is located in such a serene place. As we walked around it was very peaceful. We didn't spend too much time there though, because soon it began to rain on us...
After visiting the cemetery we headed to Vianden. The drive was beautiful...Once we arrived in Vianden we went to explore the castle there. Here's Rachel giving us a "real smile":
Pictures taken inside the castle as we explored:
The view of Vianden from the castle:We then found a little cafe to eat a late lunch. The girls ate well and were rewarded with ice cream. Thank heavens for indoor dining! It wasn't the warmest day... We then headed home. It was a little less than a 4-hour drive home from Vianden. The girls broke a record on our drive home. They both slept (at the same time) for 3 hours straight. It was the most successful car ride home we've ever had. It was heavenly!

We enjoyed our weekend adventure to Luxembourg. It's a beautiful country. And it's always nice to spend the weekend together as a family. Good memories!

Our Birthday Girl

Rachel is 4 years old today! We decorated the house last night and she was so excited to wake up to a decorated house. She loves the streamers and balloons. So easy to please! Here are some facts about Rachel at 4 years old:

• 27 pounds and 38 1/2 inches tall.
  
• Really good about playing and helping out with her little sister.
• Loves to go to the park.
• Loves to talk on the phone.
• One of her favorite things is to help out in the kitchen.
• Can write her name all by herself.
• Has become quite independent recently.
• Is always asking for mom to "leave her" at her friends' houses.
• Still takes a 2-hour nap most days.
• Enjoys flipping through books and telling her own version of the story.
• Currently is obsessed with rice cakes - she has to be limited to 2 per day.
• One of her favorite activities is to help her daddy shine his shoes.
• Enjoys playing on pbskids.org.
• Can be quite the perfectionist at times, but is getting really good about trying again.
• Loves to sing and dance.
  

Mother Dear

Rachel sang at church for the first time today. She did a fabulous job! Such a great job that I had to have her sing again at home this afternoon. :)

Our 13 Euro Day

Queen's Day was last week, April 30th. It's a day of heavy drinking, wearing orange, and the Dutch-version of garage sales. Since we don't drink and we don't have much orange, we decided to try out the garage sale part of Queen's Day. Let's just say the Dutch-version of garage sales isn't much different than the U.S.-version. Although to me it seemed like they had more junk than you usually see in the U.S. There was one family that was trying to sell VHS tapes. Who still has a VHS player??? Anyhow, kind of humorous. We actually attempted selling some pretty good items. That may be why we didn't have much success. I wasn't willing to sell the 100 euro humidifier for 5 euros. Sorry folks! Anyhow, we spent about an hour on the morning of Queen's Day trying to sell some of our things, and we ended up making a whooping 13 euros. We sold 4 items. Not the biggest money-making day, but we made something on things we probably would have just thrown away.

Another use for the double stroller - hauling stuff over to town center:

About halfway through our selling adventure:
We by far had the least amount of items. Some people just pulled up with trailers and unloaded all of their junk. Supposedly this goes on all day. But I wasn't willing to sit around all day. Thirteen euros in one hour, isn't too bad... Anyhow, if you're interested in knowing exactly what the Queen's Day holiday is, click here.